Sunrise Feels Lawsuit Heat

Homeowners Want To Keep Backyard Fences

SUNRISE — A group of west Sunrise homeowners is threatening to sue the city to allow them to keep their fences in a landscape buffer behind their back yards.

"I don't think they have any alternative at this point," said Walter Pesetsky, an attorney representing 28 homeowners in Residences of Sawgrass. "I think the City Council has put its head in the sand."

At issue are 11 illegal fences inside a 25-foot strip of land that separates three developments, Residences of Sawgrass, New Orleans Estates and Shannon Estates.

Some of the fences inside the 3,500-foot-long landscape buffer were mistakenly permitted by the city.

Robert Schiano has owned his home in the Residences of Sawgrass for 13 years and has put $40,000 to $50,000 into a lavish yard, complete with koi ponds, lush vegetation and filters and pumps.

"I'm not going to lose a penny on that," Schiano said.

Schiano is one of the homeowners who received a permit to build a fence in the easement. He has already paid to have large trees removed from the easement behind his house. And he has taken down the fence at his own expense.

"Where is my reimbursement for their mistakes?" he asked.

City commissioners on June 24 voted to uphold the city code, which prohibits homeowners from building structures on landscape easements.

The decision means that outstanding code violations for the 11 fences will now go before a special master, who will consider homeowners' arguments to keep the structures.

"I'm confident that the special master is going to find there's a violation," City Attorney Jeff Olson said.

Commissioners also asked city staff to develop a plan to landscape the 25-foot-wide strip of land that separates three developments and to provide access to maintain the land.

Three of the five elected to the commission live in the developments. However, some nearby homeowners alleged conflict of interest.

Olson denied that there was a conflict. None have fences in the easement.

Earlier this year, staff members had suggested the city take out the landscape berm and replant the easement as well as remove invasive trees planted 20 years ago when the developments were built.

They also suggested replacing illegal fences that were permitted by the city with chain-link fences to preserve backyard neighbors' sense of open space.

Doing so would have cost the city $115,000.

Christy McKerney can be reached at cmckerney@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2008.